The government needs to use its current waste review to come up with “radical approaches” that will cut the cost of dealing with waste for councils as landfill space runs out, the Local Government Association (LGA) has said today (July 8).
The call came on the final day of the Association's annual conference in Bournemouth, as it cited European figures which showed that the UK sent 18.8 million tonnes of municipal waste to landfill in 2008 – which it said was the most of any European Union member state.
With the current financial squeeze that all councils are facing, it is more important than ever that they work with residents to make sure as much rubbish as possible is recycled to avoid being hit by heavy fines
Cllr Gary Porter, chair, LGA environment board
And, it claimed that, based on Environment Agency figures for 2008 which showed that 57 million tonnes of waste was landfilled in England and Wales in 2008, Britain would fill its remaining landfill capacity of 650 million cubic metres by 2018.
The LGA praised the efforts of councils to encourage people to divert waste from landfill and recycle more, highlighting Cambridgeshire county council's achievement in already meeting its landfill diversion goals for 2013 and 2020 and the success the London borough of Bexley had had in exceeding its 2010 landfill diversion goals.
But, it said that, as well as councils facing costs from Landfill Tax having increased to £48 per tonne and being set to increase by £8 a tonne for every year until 2014/15, taxpayers also faced having to foot a bill of £180 million a year if landfill diversion goals were not met.
Council budgets
As a result, it said in a statement: “Council leaders are calling on the government to ensure its waste review comes up with radical approaches to cutting the cost of dealing with the nation's rubbish at a time when council budgets are under unprecedented pressure.”
While the LGA did not provide details of exactly what it hoped the outcome of the waste review announced by the coalition government last month (see letsrecycle.com story) would be, the Association has long campaigned for the return of landfill tax to councils to help fund the development of new waste management infrastructure.
This is emphasised by a policy paper considered by the LGA's environment board at a meeting this week (July 5), which reveals that while the association does not expect an immediate change of the situation, it asks that the government “commit to a review of landfill tax arrangements”.
The LGA has already identified waste collection and disposal as the third biggest area of council spending, after education and social care, claiming that waste services cost local authorities more than £3.1 billion in 2008/09, which was set to increase to £4.2 billion by 2013.
And, with its latest statement also claiming householders, retailers, businesses and manufacturers have a “vital role” to play in both waste reduction and diverting material from landfill, the body is also likely to continue its pressure on retailers to reduce ‘excessive' packaging (see letsrecycle.com story).
Landfill space
Commenting on the LGA's concerns, the chairman of its environment board, councillor Gary Porter, congratulated householders for their efforts to recycle more, but called for “radical changes” in the way people produce and dispose of waste to ensure landfill space did not run out.
“With the current financial squeeze that all councils are facing, it is more important than ever that they work with residents to make sure as much rubbish as possible is recycled to avoid being hit by heavy fines,” he said.
“For decades people used to be able to throw away their rubbish without worrying about the environmental or financial consequences. Those days have gone. Taxpayers face huge financial penalties if targets to reduce the amount of rubbish sent to landfill are not met.
“Councils use many different techniques to make sure that as much rubbish as possible is recycled and they will continue to work with local residents to decide which approach works best for their area,” he added.
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